SBC Voices

I wonder what Asaph’s prayers sounded like when he was in the midst of his brutish ignorance. Asaph is the guy from Psalm 73 that was envious of the arrogant and almost lost his faith by fixing his eyes on the prosperity of the wicked. At root, dude was covetous. And so I wonder what his prayers sounded like during that terribly dark season. I wonder if they sound anything like my own. With envious eyes Asaph peeks at the luxurious living of his unbelieving neighbors. They’ve got prime rib and he’s eating a Jewish version of a Salisbury steak TV dinner; which, of course, is closer to … [Read more...] about Why Your Prayers Might Not Be Answered

A massive humanitarian tragedy is developing in Liberia and Sierra Leone. I'm not talking about the epidemiological tragedy, which will continue to unfold over the next several months. I'm talking about the inevitable state of these two nations after the virus has run its course and the epidemic comes to an end. Between now and then, the United Nations projects that 10,000 new cases of Ebola will emerge weekly, mostly in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and that, at this phase of the epidemic, those numbers will increase exponentially. At present the fatality rate in this epidemic has been around … [Read more...] about Why Southern Baptists, Above All Others, Must Stand Ready to Aid Liberia

Here is a copy of the resignation letter Mark Driscoll sent to his elders yesterday.   October 14, 2014 Michael Van Skaik Chairman, Board of Advisors and Accountability Mars Hill Church Dear Michael: By God’s grace I have pastored Mars Hill Church for 18 years. Today, also by God’s grace, and with the full support of my wife Grace, I resign my position as a pastor and elder of Mars Hill. I do so with profound sadness, but also with complete peace. On August 24th I announced to our Mars Hill family of churches that I had requested a leave of absence from the pulpit … [Read more...] about Mark Driscoll Resigns from Mars Hills Church

I've been busy trying to get caught up on some work before I head out of the country next week - won't be writing much. But since this discussion broke out on another comment stream, I thought I should put up a forum for discussion of the issue here. According to the Houston Chronicle, it seems the series of events is (at least loosely) as follows: 1) The Houston city council, led by the mayor, an open lesbian, passed a "non-discrimination" ordinance. 2) Christian groups opposed the ordinance based on some of its provisions and possible consequences. I've not read the ordinance and … [Read more...] about Houston’s Mayor and Religious Freedom

The SBC Plodder is back with his customary incisive analysis of all things SBC. LifeWay and Baptist Press do a good job this time of the year in researching and writing about clergy salaries. BP's story about pastor salaries not keeping pace with inflation is a good example. According to LifeWay's 2014 Clergy Compensation Survey, pay and pay package increases for full-time senior pastors are going up at a rate less than the rate of inflation. This means that, as a group, senior pastors are slightly losing ground in their income considering the cost of goods of services. Any senior pastor … [Read more...] about Sorry, but that MDiv is not a paying investment (William Thornton)

Paul Thompson blogs at the Bridge. Unfortunately, evidently he also needs his mouth washed out with soap! The childhood fear of having my mouth washed out with soap haunted me this evening as I was responding to some push back from mycolumn this morning in the Times-News. I’m thankful for the opportunity to write a regular column for the Times News. They are kind to publish my 500-700 word column in a rotation with 5 others in the Magic Valley. Today’s post generated a small amount of discussion via www.magicvalley.com (the online version of the Times-News). In my attempt to dialog with … [Read more...] about “Your Comment Contains Profanity” (Paul Thompson)

I ignore thousands of people every day. And you probably do too. As I’m typing this article my social media feeds are still rolling. People are still tweeting, liking, linking, and carrying on conversations. I’ll ignore 99% of it. You will too, because we live in a culture of dismissal. This is why we are told that if you want to get noticed online then you’ve got to stand out. The worst thing that can happen to a writer, like myself, is to be ignored. You can write the best piece in the history of writing but if nobody reads it, then you really haven’t done much. The old acronym is … [Read more...] about The Need For A Decision

Most awkward pastoral moment: When I'm pressed to identify my favorite verse in the Bible Sometimes it happens because a fifth-grader asks when I visit his Sunday School class. Sometimes it happens when I'm supposed to inscribe a gift Bible for one of our first-graders. Sometimes it happens in dialogue with a men's Bible study. "Pastor, which is your favorite verse of the Bible?" So, here's the awkward truth I face in those moments: I don't have one. Truly, I do not have a favorite Bible verse. I never have. It's not that I came to the reasoned position that I shouldn't have one; it's … [Read more...] about Favorite Verses

There is so much NOT to like about the new "Left Behind" movie starring Nicholas Cage. Of course, first among them is the theological framework from which the movie springs. In our current SBC world, most reject premillennial, pretribulational eschatology. Many disdain it, quite a few ridicule it and some have labelled it a heresy. Obviously, those folks are not going to like the movie. That's not my quarrel with the movie. Even from a pre-trib viewpoint, there are some nits to be picked about the movie. I'd like to share a few of the things I found most troubling or confusing about this … [Read more...] about One Good Lesson from “Left Behind”

Paul Thompson blogs at "The Bridge."  Today (October9, 2014) at 5 p.m., mountain time, we will know what the courts will say in regard to Idaho’s defense of marriage. In the mean time I’ve received messages like this in response to my calling the church (Eastside Baptist) to prayer. “OK, well in my place of worship my pastor fully supports gay rights. I’m a bisexual Christian I married a man when I was 19 and that man cheated on me and divorced me and with man or woman I’m happy and God is happy to call me his child and is proud that I spread love throughout the state.. So keep your rude … [Read more...] about When Those Who Preach Don’t Know God (Paul Thompson)